World Music Features

OkiWith luxuriant hair and chiseled features seldom found in Japanese, Oki was teasingly nicknamed “Ainu” as a kid growing up in Tokyo. He suspected there might be some truth to the matter.By Dan Grunebaum

Sussan DeyhimBorn into an aristocratic Tehran family, Deyhim describes her time in the Shah’s Iran as a fairytale, but not because of recollections of soft-focus summers playing under pomegranate trees. By Tom Jackson

Boom PamIsraeli surf-rockers Boom Pam are proud to wear their schmaltz on their sleeves, taking their name from a 1969 pop hit that’s become a perennial favorite at Israeli weddings—and recording a version of their own that went straight to the top of their homeland’s charts last year.By Tom Pryor

Jorge Drexler: The Road From Hollywood
Uruguayan-born singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler was, like many of us, quite surprised when “Al Otro Lado Del Rio” (On The Other Side of The River), written for Walter Salles’ 2004 film The Motorcycle Diaries, was nominated for best song during the 2005 Oscars.By Ernest Barteldes

Pernambuco Dreaming
If the ’70s and ’80s were all about Bahia—the picture-postcard beaches, the A-list music stars (Caetano Veloso, Gilbert Gil, Tom Zé)—the ’90s and ’00s have seen the focus shift inexorably to Bahia’s smaller, more unassuming neighbor, Pernambuco.By Paul Sullivan

Antibalas
Antibalas are Afrobeat’s next generation rather than pioneers, but the group’s message comes from the heart. The collective’s newest release, Security, uses Fela Kuti’s trademark rhythmic hooks, but channels its own voice to deliver a strong State Of The Union.By Mike Greenhaus